2013 and earlier Honda Odyssey Prices Paid and Buying Experience

inky · February 2002

I think you fell into that deal by them having made so much money lately that you are a repeat? and good customer were treated right. I do not think your deal was typical by any means. In fact can you think of any angles the dealer was using--is there something you can do for the dealer later?
Glad for you. What color was it?
INKY

wolveseatsheep · February 2002

No I don't have one. Yes I'm still looking. I'm in NC but would be happy to travel 8-12 hrs to kentucky (or anywhere) to save $1500. Again we ask, what dealer? Surely there must be some reason, whether you are aware of it or not, on why you are the only Ody driver in the US who bartered for $1500 below MSRP...

doritos · February 2002

Thanks Inky. Color is Granite Green. Wolfy- The dealership is Sam Swope in Louisville- 1-800-NEW-AUTO. But we don't have it yet. We were told by the end of the month. I'm glad for your positive comments. Actually I was feeling like we could have gotten a better deal. To your question- maybe it's because production is up. I've seen way more vans on the lots than at any other time we looked before.

drme · February 2002

Since I really learnt a lot and saved a lot of money from reading this forum here is how I bought my Ody (love that name, am a garfield fan).
After following all the tips here, in Edmunds, carpoint, etc I used the ehonda.com site to get dealers contact nos. near me as to where i could buy an Ody, then I called them (6 dealers) to ask for quotes, I immediately eliminated those who didn't have any in stock right now, were only selling at MSRP, including one that said they were selling below MSRP but all the ones they had in stock had appearance packages. I had 2 dealers where the salespersons said over the phone they were selling below MRSP (-US$500+) Sim Fryson and Alton Blakeley Honda, both of which are @100 miles in opposite directions from where I live I dickered a bit over the phone with both of them re: pricing and interest rates(since I consider the cost of financing as part of the vehicle price finally went with AltonBlakley Honda and got a granite grey cloth EX (really not green to me and I'm not colour blind)with iVES(the VHS, since I have a laptop that can be used as a DVD player) and bass subwoofer for a total driveaway price of US$ 29471 (inclusive of KY sales tax, title, documentation and processing fee) I got 6.88% APR for a 36 month term. I guess I could have gone with Sims-Fryson but they did not have one with the VHS SF quoted a driveaway price for a mesa beige cloth EX again inclusive of salestax, title and processing fee at 28230 same finacing rate.
I would probably have been able to buy the same Ody for @US$ 23650 in Alberta, Canada which still has no PST and with a lower financing rate plus @US$1500 to 2000 for airfare and car transport but the salesmen (Jim Branham for Sims Fryson and Jerry New and Gary Bradley for Alton Blakley Honda) and and posts here have said the warranty wouldn't be honored in the US plus there is the matter of customs, DOT and DOE paperwork and the possibility of having to pay U.S.
customs duties (Had to do those for my 1994 Saturn when I moved here). has Anybody in this forum ever done this? As a Canadian economic refugee now working in the U.S. this is of interest to me as I am thinking of doing this for the S2000 I saw at the dealership plus the top numbers being in miles on the odometer made me speed on my drive home and I would still like the daytime driving lights, Celsius thermostats, etc that are in the made for Canada Ody.

clone24 · February 2002

I've been looking at this van off and on for 2-3 years now and the wait list here was 6 months then. It's now down to 1-2 months or less depending. I made several inquiries and had some dealers actually calling me back a few times but I ended up walking - not because they were MSRP - but because they were MSRP and giving me $3k less than wholesale on my car. These same dealers that would only give me 3k for my car were trying to sell the same one for 7-10k. At any rate, taking it in the seat from both directions was just too much for me. It's too bad but of course now I get to try the same thing with a Pilot....

ateixeira · February 2002

Actually, once the Pilot arrives maybe wait lists will form for that, while Odysseys become more readily available.

I know the production of the Pilot will cut into Odyssey supply, but what I'm saying is it'll also cut into Odyssey demand, and perhaps more so.

-juice

tj_610 · February 2002

My wife and I live in Raleigh-Durham area. We just picked up a 2002 EX with leather, no DVD or NAV, from Burlington Honda last night. The whole buying experience was very positive, honest and low pressure. I called Honda dealers from Wilson and Goldsboro in the east to Hickory and Winston-Salem in the west. Burlington was the only one charging MSRP only, plus tag and the 3% NC highway tax. No add-ons at pickup, only a light pitch for extended warranty, nothing else. No doc fees or last minute surprises. Waited about 6 weeks, built in Canada, got color/trim we wanted on request. You may be able to eventually find a better deal, but from what I know from Edmunds and friends I think we got a reasonable deal close to home.

nitro3 · February 2002

I have been pricing at Sam Swope as well. Who did you deal with ?

mbrassette · February 2002

After faxing an offer to 21 dealers in and around the Houston area, had 2 accept my offer. One had the exact model and color I wanted in stock. So we got our '02 LX Taffeta White for $1,240 below MSRP. And picked it up from Twin City Honda in Port Arthur that same evening! Anyone interested, talk to Eric Mendez there and tell him Mark sent you. Other dealer that met the price was Billy Navarre in Lake Charles, LA.

LXs are hard to come by, and prices ranged from MSRP to $500 off to this. We're happy! Waiting on our accessories now!

Mark
'02 Odyssey Taffeta White

doritos · February 2002

Do you live in Canada? Wow. Our salesman was Billy Holyfield. Good luck!

bfmomma · February 2002

We have our Odyssey "on order" and due to arrive in 7-10 days. Have the purchase agreement with VIN on it--the VIN starts with a "2" and I seem to remember (when I read hundreds of posts here last weekend) that that means it was made in Canada??? Am I remembering correctly? So the "old" or "tried and tested" plant, correct?

I'll post the whole story when I actually have the vehicle in my garage... I'm too superstitious to talk about it yet...

Thanks in advance!
Lori
in Milwaukee

jmurman42 · February 2002

2 does mean the Ontario plant
5 means Alabama

Jerry

prelude12 · February 2002

Just purchased our first Odyssey (5th Honda). The Silver EX-L landed off the truck with no pre-order. I walked in and bought it the same day. MSRP was 28,690 and dealer discounted $600. Maybe they were feeling generous on Presidents Day !

ateixeira · February 2002

Sounds like supply is beginning to catch up? Finally...

-juice

hondamob · February 2002

Looks like almost everyone is charging MSRP, and few places are charging above MSRP. So it looks like to me that if you get a van in a reasonable amount of time and pay MSRP than you aren't doing too bad. Espically a leather van cause from what I have seen in doing research they are tougher to get that a van with cloth.

wolveseatsheep · February 2002

Looks more to me like the 20% increase in production so far this year is beginning to cause some dealers to come down off MSRP a little. Reading the last 20 posts here I see someone who got one for $1,300 under MSRP, and another for $500 under MSRP. Granted I haven't been reading this board for very long but I'd be surprised if you go back and find anybody getting Ody's for less than MSRP, let alone two in one week.

jmurman42 · February 2002

I can't speak for Hondamob, but I can for myself. I am a Honda dealer and our supplies are surely increasing...however, so is the demand. If demand slacks off then we will, at least here in Maryland, see Odysseys on the lot. As it is now, almost all are still in a pre-order/pre-purchase situation. Especially any of the "leather" Odys. Honda still has us at a 40% allocation for "leather" cars.

Jerry

wholigan · February 2002

Jerry -

I know that you are a long time poster and just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate your straight forward answers here. As you know, it can get rough on some of these boards!

I am more of a sponge than anything else - I will be buying a new vehicle for model year 2003. Been looking all across the mini-van/truck spectrum - we seem to be down to the Ody, Pilot, Sedona, or Durango. I just feel fortunate to be able to have time to make a very educated decision! The most frustrating thing about the entire car buying process is that all the education in the world can't guarantee you from getting a lemon. We have owned EIGHT vehicles since 1984: only TWO did not have MAJOR problems and the scary thing is that we are not even considering that manufacture (GM)!

Oh well, enough whining... Thanks Again!

Pat

jmurman42 · February 2002

I thought it was too cold for citrus up there!

:-)

Jerry

wholigan · February 2002

Just remember...

It was probably warmer in Minnesota this year than in Maryland!!!

OTOH, I can see why the leather is so popular here - those seat warmers would come in handy!

ateixeira · February 2002

I dunno, it's been a very warm winter in MD. Only one snowing.

-juice

jmurman42 · February 2002

it was almost 60....spring is just around the corner. BTW when Spring hits, it is our Christmas.

I just received our allocation for Odysseys for April...very nice, but still not enough. Maybe I'm sounding like the farmers...you know, not enough rain, too hot, etc.

:-)

Jerry

tj_610 · February 2002

You don't have to answer this, but I was just curious after reading your good-natured belly-aching about your Ody allotment. So don't take this as a sarcastic jab, but really an honest question -- About how many Accords do you need to sell at the average going rate at you dealership to equal your profit from one Odyssey EX-L at MSRP?

jmurman42 · February 2002

thanks for the question. I am the Internet Sales Manager here at my dealership. So, my deals are either a couple of hundred dollars under invoice or MSRP. Accords and Civics keep the numbers up, but Odysseys and S2000's pay the mortgage. It takes about 5-10 Accords or Civics to equate to one EXL/RES. This depends on wether there is any back end money or trades.

Does this answer your question?

Jerry

tj_610 · February 2002

yep. thx for the honest info.

hwongtoi · March 2002

Last Sunday, I picked up my GG EX-L for MSRP from Steve Hopkins Honda in Fairfield, CA (about 50 miles NE of San Francisco).

I've been on 3 waiting lists for this specific vehicle model and color at MSRP since last October. The other two dealers were Mel Rapton's in Sacramento, and Ocean Honda in Capitola (although Ocean tries to sell their vehicles to locals for the first 24 hours before turning to their waiting list).

I was very pleased with my experience with Steve Hopkins Honda, and highly recommend them. Anita Towns, the Internet manager, kept me well-informed throughout the process. There was no pressure to buy any extras. Price was MSRP + $5 tire + $45 docs + license + sales taxes. You can reach her at (800) 894-3325 or (707) 427-1000, or at anitatowns@honda.carpoint.msn.com.

Howard Wong-Toi

JPham · March 2002

Hey Howard,

that's pretty good.
I'm also on the waitlist at Ocean Honda in Capitola since January ... guess I have some ways
to go, huh?
My neighbor got an EXL at Capitol Honda in San Jose for MSRP+$600 and that was the lowest I've found so far (so low that they won't give me one for the same price).
Mind if I use your name as a referral to Anita?

JP

raybear · March 2002

Anita's good, also try Alex up at Mendo Lake Honda and Brian Machado at Autowest in Roseville.

Not many guys at MSRP up your way, most of my customers have to go south.

hwongtoi · March 2002

> Mind if I use your name as a referral to Anita?
>
> JP

Yes, sure. I mentioned to her that I'd gladly send people her way.

howard.

JPham · March 2002

will4271 · March 2002

I heard that Kastner Honda in Napa is also selling at MSRP. The waiting list is 2-3 weeks.

bfmomma · March 2002

Hi, everyone.

This will probably be my last reading/posting on this board because I know I will just be sick if I read about someone getting a better deal than I did ;-)

Anyway, thanks for tips on dealers in the metro-Milwaukee area. I have some comments about the dealers I worked with.

Boyland Honda:
I have never had a WORSE experience shopping for a car. When they first opened last fall, we went to the grand opening and wanted to test drive a 2002 Odyssey (basically, we'd test driven a Sedona to get the free Shrek video, were under-whelmed, but could have lived with it, and wanted to see if the Odyssey was truly worth waiting for). The salesman who "helped" us yelled at our kids for climbing into the testdrive vehicle (no muddy shoes or anything) and then refused to let us testdrive a 2002. We were "allowed" to TD a 2001 and were told "the models are exactly alike". NOT! Second experience with Boyland was their ad that proclaimed "Odysseys starting at 23,998". I called and was told that they got ONE model in to sell at that price and the others were more (of course). Salesman told us he had a 2000 with 44,000 miles on it for 17,400 and if we came in, he could look at our tradein and probably give us 1700 on it (94 Sentra). We showed up and the 2000 had mysteriously be sold (yeah, right). But they had a 1999--drove like crap (transmission?) and they wanted 17,900 for it--bottom line.

Wilde Honda in Waukesha:
Nice internet sales manager, but they add on that winter protection package for $500 over MSRP

David Hobbs Honda in Glendale:
The internet sales manager (Loren Woyach) is a very nice, honest man. I wanted VERY much to buy from him, but the truth of the matter is that they couldn't deliver an LX for two months...

And the winner is:

Schlossman's Honda City in Greenfield
Internet sales manager Dan Steffen was wonderful. Initial price quote was $200 below MSRP and after I took his quote to Loren (Hobbs), he threw in the cargo area liner thing. Got $1400 for our trade-in (Boyland had offered us $800!!!) and every single person I dealt with at this place was wonderful.... Worked with two other salespeople as Dan wasn't in when I brought in my tradein for appraisal (Pete was very helpful) and Dan was leaving when we picked up the van (Jon, I think, was the name of the guy who went through things with us). The finance manger was also very friendly and honest (would match internet pricing on the HondaCare package). Three LX's available immediately or within 10 days...

So on Thursday we picked up our 2002 LX in Redrock Pearl with the cargo liner thing and additional CD player. I'm in heaven... I seriously teared up when I first drove it.

So, as I said, I can't let myself read this board for fear I'll hear of a better deal, but you can bet I"ll be on the other Odyssey boards (and OdyClub, too). Thank you to EVERYONE who helped me become so well-educated before doing the actual purchasing. Feel free to email me if you have other questions. bfmomma@hotmail.com

Lori

ikon25 · March 2002

Hi:
We had to order our ody EX-L with a 2-3 month wait. This is fine as we don't need it until june.
After reading this, did we get taken? we paid msrp for it at Honda north in Danvers. Checked out 3 others and all the same except one where it was msrp + addons.
This will be our first honda and are now wondering..that is all thanx

mkchan · March 2002

i live in bay area too
seems i have to pay MSRP in order to buy ody.
is it better to wait for memorial day or july 4th?
and i want longest term of finaning (like 5-6 yrs) and lowest interst rate.
anyone can have any recommandation?

aspesisteve · March 2002

I don't doubt you got your great price in the Bay Area, and I congratulate you, but it's still quite a challenge to get this. I have spoken with no less than 6 dealers in or near the Bay Area and only one has offered me MSRP - the one in Napa. But that dealer said it was like a lottery for the sales people for getting the rights to sell the allocated cars. Every other dealer has kept in touch with me to let me know what they have in stock with a price of $800 to $1,500 over MSRP.

So it's off to Az. I go to get my car this week.

Does the Odyssey emissions standards vary from one state to the other? Is there anything to take into consideration for buying one in Az. and registering in Ca.?

laffnboy · March 2002

I just bought a Mesa Beige EXL-RES (DVD) from Treadwell Honda in Alabama. $29K, Delivered at no charge to my doorstep. The dealer's name is Matt Sellers, he was very helpfull and easy to deal with. The easiest buying experience I have ever had. His number is 1800-475-8682.

raybear · March 2002

Why AZ? They'll hit you with a $250 doc fee in a heartbeat, you can get the same price in Reno. SoCal comes in at MSRP with the standard $45 doc fee.

wholigan · March 2002

Just want to be sure...

Your cost for a 2002 MB Ody EXL/RES for $29000.
Did that include destination?
What about Dealer prep/doc fees?
I am assuming that this is BEFORE tax.

If you added NO Honda extras, the Honda website shows $29750 + $440 (destination) totaling $30190.

This is the first SIGNIFICANT drop from MSRP that I have seen. Please make sure that I am comparing apples to apples!

Thanks!
Wholigan

JPham · March 2002

... will someone please tell the Bay Area dealers
of this significant drop from MSRP? Apparently, they haven't been told.

JP

cccompson · March 2002

Last week I sent an e-mail inquiry to Taylor Honda in Athens (in rural SE part of Ohio). Was quoted #26,190 ($1000 less than MSRP) on an EX with cloth. Didn't get the deal done when I went there on 2/28 as they were too low on my trade. However, the price I was quoted was before they knew about a possible trade. They had 4 EXs with cloth sitting on the lot (2 silver, 1 gold, 1 green) so I believe it was a legitimate number.

deuter_boss · March 2002

Hi Raybear, Did you get your van from Spreen Honda? How long did you have to wait? I've been on their waiting list November 29 and still waiting.

adnohon · March 2002

We have too many people willing to give money to the dealers! Why reward a dealer just to satistfy your need? Is this car a piece of art? Will it appreciate in price? It's a car/van for heavens sake! The reality I see is that the dealers will keep asking for their price for the van, until cleaner heads prevail. Ohh I got mine for MSRP, I got a deal...well the dealer got a deal you got the short end of the stick...Even dealers that post on here say that Ody pay their mortgage. How arrogant is that? Okay I got a great idea...all of you on a waiting list for an Ody, take your name off the list...Maybe the price will come down or maybe pigs will fly too...Everyone remember the Cabbage Patch doll, Pokemon and day trading? Learn your lesson, and smarten up buyers! End of Rant...A frustrated but thrifty buyer!

laffnboy · March 2002

Yes there was a 189 prep fee, but nothing else. Due to the fact that I got it out of state, I did not pay taxes up front; I will pay them after registration. No other charges, though. The actual total was 29,189, a GREAT deal I believe.

aspesisteve · March 2002

I know I'm paying $300 over MSRP for the doc fees in Az, but it's still better than anything I can find in CA. I've heard some dealers in CA say MSRP, but they have no visibility as to when I would get one. So I chose PHX so I can visit friends, do some MTB riding in the sun and road trip it home. One dealer in Petaluma (North of SF) was waiting for a VIN from the factory and never got back to me despite my leaving messages.

If I thought that one poster was true about an EX-L DVD in Alabama, for $29k, I'd gladly pay the $400 to ship it to my door - but I have a hard time validating some of these prices with real inventory.

I'll make one more round of call to Los Angeles. But it does feel strange having to hunt down salesmen who have my number, know exactly what I want, know what I'll pay, but don't keep in touch. The only dealer that has religiously kept in touch with me is local and still wants $1,500 over MSRP.

wholigan · March 2002

That is the first official major price drop I have seen outside of Ohio and Kentucky! Mark that down folks - $29189 INCLUDING destination and fees but BEFORE tax and license for a 2002 EXL/RES! That vehicle STICKERS (MSRP+Destination) for $30190!

If I could get that in Minneapolis/St. Paul, I would be MUCH closer to the purchase than I am right now... Unfortunately, my wife just test drove a GMC Envoy and is REALLY interested in the Envoy XL (which seats as many as the Ody).

Short of the fact that we really do need to replace our existing minivan, I am actually really enjoying the fact that I do not have to RUSH into a car purchase! I love TOWNHALL!

raybear · March 2002

I just got an EX-L for $28,890 from a San Joaquin County dealer. That's $200 over MSRP right in your backyard. The same guy has a Granite Green EX-Lw/DVD in stock now.

paguy2 · March 2002

In market for new Odyssey (EX or EX with DVD). Would really appreciate any info on prices in PA/NJ area. Also mention good dealership experience.

raybear · March 2002

New Jersey or Pennsylvania come in at MSRP, watch for additional doc fees. In NJ they run close to $200 vs. $50 in PA on average.

thragus · March 2002

I was able to get an EX-L RES for $29,491 + $199 proc fee + 4 accessories at cost. Made a ton of phone calls and email messages to get there. Just wanted to gloat a little. Thanks to everyone for all the info. I'll probably stop reading this board, because I know prices should start to drop with the new plant adding more to production. Got the Red Rock Pearl coming in early May.

raybear · March 2002

What was the cost of the accessories and what are they? Great job!

2013 and earlier Honda Odyssey Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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